Advertising sign



Nov. 17, 1953 E. J. HILL. 2,659,171

ADVERTISING SIGN Filed Aug. 4, 1951 MVA-wmf i y I 6 5,/ ELooNrJ.Hu

Patented Nov. 17, 1953 ADVERTISING SIGN Eldon J. Hill, Dallas, Tex., assigner to Burdick- Baron Company, Dallas, Tex., a corporation of Texas Application August 4, 1951, Serial No. 240,370

This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in advertising signs and methods of making the same.

Itis the primary object of the present invention to provide an advertising sign and a method of making the same which is simple and eco-v nomical.

It is another obiect of the present invention to provide an advertising sign which is formed in the interstices of screen wire and may be inserted in door screens and Window screens of commercial establishments to present an adver tising message to the passerby and to persons entering and leaving the store.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an advertising sign of the type stated having a background element coating but not completely illing the interstices of the screen wire in a dened area and having letters, design indicia, or advertising messages similarly applied upon the background in contrasting colors or in relief or in intaglio or in any combinations thereof, so that a legible sign is produced but air may still pass freely through the area thus treated.

With the above and other objects in View, my invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination of parts presently described and pointed out in the claim.

in the accompanying drawing:

Figures l and 2 are horizontalrsectional views o1" a piece oi screen Wire and a stencilling screen superimposed thereon preparatory to performing the first and second steps in the method constituting the present invention;

Y lFigure 3 is a top plan view of a fragmentary section of screen Wire provided in a defined area with a background element resulting Vfrom the initial steps in the method of the present in-v vention; ,c i f Figure 4 is a horizontal `sectional view of the section of` screen wire with a stencilling screen superimposed thereon preparatory to performing the third step in the method constituting the present invention;

Figure 5V is a top plan view of a fragmentary section of screen Wire provided ina defined area 1 Claim. (Cl. 40-125)` Witha completed advertising sign constructed in accordance with, and pursuant, to the methods of the present invention;

- Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional'view taken along line of Figure 5; andv Figure 7 isa fragmentary sectional view of a modied formrof advertising signconstructed in n accordance With, and pursuant, tothe methods of vthe present invention.

Broadly speaking, thepresent invention resides iutheunque method of. placingfa removable flexible membrane or paper sheet beneath a section of screen Wire in a defined area and forming a background section for the sign by applying a plastic, heavily pigmented, paste-like material tothe interstices of a section of screen Wire in such deiined area by forcing the material through a stencilling screen While masking outV ing with the open portions left in the background section. Thereupon, a second plastic, paste-like material, preferably though not necessarily oi contrasting color, is forced through the second screen in such a manner as to become marginally bonded to and around the edges of the open areas originally left in the background section.A By the use of contrasting colors and by providing an appropriate amount of vertical space between the screen and the background section, contrasting colors, relief effects, or combinations of such eiiects may readily be obtained.

Referring no-W in more detail andby reference characters to the drawing, which illustrates practical embodiments o-f the present invention, i designates a section or screen Wire which may be of any desired size to fit the particular windoW, doorforthe like in which it is to be installed. .The section of screen Wire l is placed atwise upon any smooth horizontaltabletop .or similar work surface 2 and a piece oi'wax paper 3, or othersimilar flexible'membrane, ,is placed therebetween` in adefined area.. Thereupon a stencillng screen shown in Figure l.. Y

The stencilling screen S1 comprises a suitably shaped frame having al screen stencil d stretched tautly acrossA the operative surface or under face thereof.' Thescreen @may ybe of any appropriate material, such as stencil silkoreven A' the shapeor outline of the background design of theA sign being fabricated. Suchop'en spacesare schematically indicated in Figurel at'aQb, and c. 1 Thestencil isalso masked in certain areasvvitliin the .defined areaiin thel` portions corresponding to VVthe letters, design indicia, or advertising mejs-l J S1 is superimposed thereon, as.

l background.

sage which is to appear on the background. Such areas are schematically designated in Figure 1 at .r and y.

A suitable pigmented, somewhat iuid material containing drying oils, or some .such similar vehicle, and having a viscosity at room temperature approximately equal to that of heavy molasses, is then squeegeed through the screen 4 into the interstices of the screen wire section I forming anat under surface against a smooth table tcp 2 and almost immediately the membrane 3 is peeled off, as shown in Figure 2, to produce a pervious or so-called phantom background section for the sign or advertising display in which the area to be occupied by the letters or design 1 indicia is left completely unfilled or open, as indicated at 6 in Figure 2. For purposes of illustration herein, a single letter A has been used to exemplify the design indicia, but it will, of

course, be understood in this connection that any f" number of letters or designs may be employed instead.

It has also been found that the screen wire section I may be laid down on the table 2 directly without the interposition of the flexible membrane 3 and, by peeling off the screen wire section l as soon as the pigmented material has been stencilled thereon, the material in the interstices will be pulled out and remain adhered to the table top 2, producing the same phantom" effect.

When the background section 5 has dried suiiiciently, a flexible membrane or backing sheet 3', formed of absorbent tissue paper or similar material, is placed on the flat table working surt face 2 and the screen wire section placed thereover. rThen a second steneilling screen S2 is placed over the screen wire section I. The screen S2 comprises a frame f of substantially the same size and shape as the previously described frame f of the vscreen S1 and is similarly provided with a tightly stretched screen 4 which is masked over its entire area except the areas conforming to the letters or design indicia, and as to such areas the screen patte-rn is slightly larger than the letters or design indicia with which it is intended to register.

A heavily pigmented paste-like material of appropriate contrasting color much greater viscosity than the previously mentioned material is then squeegeed through the screen il and will be forced through the open areas 5 in the screen wire I. Inasmuch as the openings in the screen 4 are peripherally larger than the actual opening 6 in the screen wire I, the compound being extruded through the screen 4 will overlap very slightly onto the background material and Lil further complementary screens may be employed to introduce diierent contrasting colors into other open spaces. It is thus possible to produce multi-colored effects.

If desired, it is also possible to provide a phantom-on-phantom effect, so to speak, by creating a phantom background 5 in exactly the manner previously described above and thereupon repeating the process with the stencil S2. After the coating material has been squeegeed through the stencil S2, the screen Wire section I is peeled up from the table 2 to remove the excess material from the interstices. It also should be noted that desirable attention-getting effects may be achievedby dusting the coatings on the screen wire, while still wet, with sand smalto or ne-gauge glass beads, and such materials may be used in various colors.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the advertising sign and in the steps of its production may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

An advertising display sign comprising a section of open-mesh screen material formed of interwoven strands and having a sign-element lo,- cated entirely within an area which is substantially smaller than the total area of the section and is spaced inwardly at all points from the peripheral margins of the screen material, said sign element comprising a foraminous signforming body consisting of a substantially rigid but somewhat pliable material extending entirely through the interstices of the screen material in a dened area having a selected marginal contour and completely encasing the interwoven strands in such dened area but not completely lling said interstices, said rlrst signforming body being thicker than the screen material and having oppositely presented faces located outwardly and on opposite sides of the screen material, and a second sign-forming body consisting of a solid, substantially rigid but somewhat pliable material extending through and nlling the interstices of the screen material in another dened area directly contiguous to the rst mentioned dened area, said second sign-forming body projecting outwardly on both sides of the screen material, thereby providing outwardly will force its way around on the under side to overlap somewhat, thereby forming a double locked retentive bond, substantially as shown in Figure 6. When the material has dried sufli- Ciently, the backing sheet 3 is removed.

By using materials ofproper consistencyV and by appropriately elevating the top surface of the screen S2, by use of thicker stencil paper or masking material, to introduce the desired amount of space vertically between the upwardly presented face of the background plaque or section 5 and the upper face of the screen fil', it is possible to achieve various types of raised-letter or relief eiTects combined with a phantom 1f desired, the screen Il may be masked vin such amanner as toV introduce letters presented faces which are respectively spaced outwardly in relation to the adjacent outwardly presented faces of the first-mentioned sign-forming body, said second sign-forming body, furthermore, extending marginally over on both sides of the mst-mentioned sign-forming body in the provision of a tongue-and-groove type of interlock betweenv the two sign-forming bodies along the line contiguity thereof.

ELDON J. HILL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date '169,139 Hotchner Aug. so, 1904 807,198 Paige y Dec. 12, 1905 1,681,349 Krause Aug. 21, 1928 1,809,382 Hauings June 9, 1931 1,932,138 Kimbrough ont. 24, 1933 2,110,335 Kritzer Mar. 8, 1938 2,390,663 Pollard Dec. 11 1945 

